Man Utd, Chelsea flops fulfil Turkey prophecy: Top 10 Turkish signings made for the Super Lig

Some players were born to play in Turkey and every summer there are many who fulfil their prophecy. We have ranked the top 10 most Turkish Super Lig signings of the Turkish Super Lig summer transfer window.

10) Ui-jo Hwang to Alanyaspor

Having joined Alanyaspor on September 6, Hwang has played once this term after making a grand total of zero appearances for Nottingham Forest.

The South Korean spent the second half of last season on loan at Alanyaspor, scoring once in eight games, an extremely underwhelming return from a player whose stock has fallen off a cliff since joining Forest from Bordeaux in August 2022.

Hwang didn’t play once for the Premier League side and had four loan spells in two years, culminating in those six months with Alanyaspor which make this permanent transfer even better. They had all summer to bring him back and didn’t do so until September. Proper Turkey, that.

9) David Datro Fofana to Goztepe

From one ex-Premier League striker to another – although we are not entirely sure that Hwang can be referred to as that. Fofana is another player who was signed very late in Turkey’s transfer window by a desperate club from a desperate club in Chelsea.

The limited Premier League experience – but Premier League experience no less – makes Fofana a decent pick up for the mid-table Turkish side. We just know he will score a respectable amount of goals in Turkey; no less than six and absolutely not more than 15. It will be enough to secure a £10million permanent move to a superior Super Lig team next summer.

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8) Filip Kostic to Fenerbahce

This signing might be too good to be Pure Turkish Super Lig but a lot of it does work. Kostic is on the wrong side of 30, leaves a European giant in Juventus, is from a nation sat 35th in the FIFA world rankings, has left on loan after being frozen out, and joined one of Galatasaray or Fenerbahce, which simply had to be the case.

The old Football Manager transfer philosophy of searching by reputation and international caps is very strong with this one. Not being a free agent is a hitch but he was still available for no transfer fee. We’re taking it.

7) Sofyan Amrabat to Fenerbahce

Being linked with top clubs such as Liverpool and Manchester United for ages, eventually moving to one of them on loan, being a bit sh*t and returning to a club not interested in keeping him, then ending up at a Turkish club in September…beautiful. A lot of things can simply be described as Super Lig, and that is up there as one of the best.

Joining Fred in Jose Mourinho’s midfield is fun as well.

6) Antonin Barak to Kasimpasa

This transfer can be easily justifiable to FIFA players (nope, not calling it EAFC yet, just like we are not calling Twitter ‘X’). Imagine getting Barak in a pack and seeing a Kasimpasa badge instead of a Fiorentina one, you’d say to yourself that you had no idea this happened but it fits.

We are not sure why, but the fact Barak is someone who wears his socks really low makes him a bit more Turkey than other random playmakers from Czechia. His loan move will absolutely become permanent next summer.

5) Stefan Savic to Trabzonspor

Every aging but not completely rubbish centre-back from a Balkan country falling down the pecking order at a huge club belongs in Turkey. We don’t make the rules.

4) Joao Mario to Besiktas

We can’t justify why Mario reeks of Turkey more than Rafa, but he just does. Both players are Portuguese and left Benfica for Besiktas in the summer. It isn’t an age thing as they are both 31, though that was a shocking discovery. How Mario is not five years older is beyond us.

Maybe it is the international experience. Maybe it is the bald head. We are struggling here but it is so right, and we know you will agree.

3) Rony Lopes to Alanyaspor

A Portuguese wide man with two international caps, a big-money transfer on their CV, and a gradual decline when it should be their prime years is someone who simply belongs in the Turkish Super Lig. This one is close to being absolutely spot on, but we think a move to Istanbul Basaksehir or Trabzonspor would have been better. We are not too fussy though and this comfortably gets into this list.

2) Gabriel Paulista to Besiktas

Remember this fella? Aye, the one who played for Arsenal for a bit. Well, he is in Turkey now and what a fit it is.

Paulista’s playing style as a brave psychopath at the back will make him a favourite at Besiktas and life in Turkey is going swimmingly for him already.

1) Ciro Immobile to Besiktas

Simply impossible to beat, this one. What a spectacular window from Besiktas. Paulista, Immobile and Mario joined in the summer window alongside Cher Ndour on loan from PSG, Rafa from Benfica, and Libyan midfielder Moatasem Al-Musrati from Braga. Biblical.

The Turkish Super Lig is ideal for older players who feel they have more to offer than a retirement package in MLS, or even a huge wage in Saudi Arabia where nobody is watching, and the loyalty to being competitive resonates with Immobile, who easily could have left Lazio between 2016 and 2024 but ran down his contract and went off to Turkey for a tiny fee.

The 34-year-old’s welcome was rapturous, because this is Turkey after all, and he already has seven goals for his new club. Fenerbahce have Edin Dzeko and Galatasaray have Mauro Icardi, so the fact it is Besiktas is the cherry on top of the cake.

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